Geographical Information Systems

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library copies of the original datasets used to calculate the geographical barriers sub-domain in the English Indices of Deprivation 2000, including data for each electoral ward of  (a) road distance to a general practitioner surgery,  (b) road distance to a general store or supermarket,  (c) road distance to a primary school and  (d) road distance to a post office or sub post office.

John Healey: This Department does not hold the underlying data that was used in the construction of the English Indices of Deprivation 2000.

Departmental Pensions

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the effect on his Department's expenditure would be of increasing the employee contribution to each pension scheme for which his Department is responsible by one per cent.; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Increasing the member contribution for the NHS Pension Scheme by 1 per cent. across the board would yield approaching £330 million per annum to the scheme, based on a pensionable payroll of approaching £33 billion over the 12 months to 31 March 2007.
	Until 31 March 2008 the NHS Pension Scheme contribution rate was six per cent. of pensionable pay, however, members classed as manual workers paid five per cent. Employees' contribution rates to the NHS Pension Scheme have been increased from 1 April 2008 as shown in the following table. This will produce an estimated yield of about 6.5 per cent. an increase of about 0.5 per cent. over the previous contribution structure. There is no change to the Department's expenditure from this increase.
	
		
			  Pensionable pay  Contribution rate ( percentage ) 
			 Up to and including £19,682 5 
			 £19,683 to £65,002 (linked to Agenda for Change pay point 17) 6.5 
			 £65,003 to £102,499 (linked to Agenda for Change pay point 49) 7.5 
			 £102,500 to any higher amount 8.5

Departmental Working Hours

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hours  (a) in total and  (b) on average per employee were worked by civil servants in his Department in the last year for which records are available.

Ben Bradshaw: Full-time staff in the Department are contracted to work 41 hours gross per week (36 hours net per week) in London and 42 hours gross per week (37 hours net per week) outside London. Around 10 per cent. of the Departments staff work part-time, and are contracted to work fewer hours than their full time colleagues. The Department does not record actual hours worked by employees. However the Department's 2007 staff survey, which was completed by well over half of staff, suggested that 25 per cent. of staff worked contracted hours, 45 per cent. worked one-five hours in excess of contracted hours, 19 per cent. of staff six-10 hours in excess and 11 per cent. of staff more than 10 hours in excess.

E Coli

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the incidence was of  (a) E-coli and  (b) salmonella poisoning in each of the last three years.

Dawn Primarolo: The number of laboratory-confirmed cases of United Kingdom-acquired  Escherichia Coli ( E. coli) 0157 and  Salmonella infections are given in the following table. The most recent data available are from 2006.
	
		
			   E.  coli 0157  Salmonella 
			 2004 818 11,791 
			 2005(1) 1,019 9,835 
			 2006(2) 1,146 11,079 
			 (1) Provisional data July 2006. (2) Provisional data July 2007.  Source:  Health Protection Agency, Health Protection Scotland, Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre (Northern Ireland)

General Practitioners: Working Hours

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to address the requirement for out-of-hours childcare for GPs and their staff working extended hours under the proposed new GP contract.

Ben Bradshaw: Most general practitioners practices are self-employed contractors and are responsible for their own child care arrangements. Child care arrangements for staff employed by practices are a matter for discussion for the employer.

NHS: Vaccination

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research his Department has carried out into variations in the levels of uptake of therapies recommended for use on the NHS by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisations.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department commissions a regular face-to-face survey conducted among parents to gauge current attitudes and perceptions of disease, immunisations and sources of information. The findings are used to help shape and inform future policy and communications with parents.
	We also conduct a regular survey among general practitioners, practice nurses and health visitors on child immunisation. This research aims to gauge their information and training needs, what advice is given to parents and any personal concerns they may have. Feedback from these surveys helps us to better understand and respond to issues on the immunisation programme that health professionals may have.

Ipsos MORI

Eric Pickles: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what payments her Office made to Ipsos MORI in the last 24 months; and for what purposes.

Tessa Jowell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Minister for Sport (Mr. Sutcliffe) on 14 March 2008,  Official Report, column 650W.

Olympic Games 2012: Ceremonies

Lyn Brown: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what role she plans for local community dance groups in the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Tessa Jowell: The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) will be developing its plans for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in due course. It is too early to say which organisations will take part in these events in four years time. However, the Cultural Olympiad provides opportunities for local community dance groups to take part in and enjoy the London games in the run up to and including 2012. Information and opportunities for involvement will be highlighted on the London 2012 website:
	www.london2012.com

Agriculture: Employment

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to review labour strategies for farm work, with particular reference to the supply of farm labour from overseas.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Government fully appreciates the importance for agriculture and horticulture of the supply of labour from overseas. The expansion of the EU has opened up a wide labour market. The Accession Monitoring Report for the period May 2004 to December 2007 records that more than 77,000 workers from the new EU Accession States have registered under the Worker Registration Scheme to take up work in agriculture.
	The Government are also aware of the importance of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS) to help out at peak times during the year. My hon. Friend the Minister responsible for SAWS at the Home Office (Mr. Byrne), and I recently had a useful meeting with the National Farmers' Union and representatives of SAWS operators at which we discussed the labour needs of the industry and the challenges facing it for the future. We shall continue to keep in touch with the Home Office and the industry on these issues and will consider whether any review of policy is necessary.

Alpacas: Farming

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what provision has been made to support alpaca farmers in the event of an outbreak of animal disease.

Jonathan R Shaw: No specific provisions have been made to support alpaca farmers in the event of an outbreak of animal disease.
	DEFRA has established a camelids (camels, llamas, alpacas, guanaco and vicun~a) stakeholder group, which is a forum for forward planning and raising issues, as well as updating camelid stakeholders on the current disease risks. In addition, particularly during outbreaks, DEFRA holds regular meetings with industry stakeholders to which representatives from camelid societies are invited.

Floods: Costs

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the cost of repairs to properties flooded during the summer of 2007.

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government (John Healey) on 28 April 2008,  Official Report, column 68W.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley of 14 March 2008,  Official Report, column 706W, on Enviros Consulting, which of the projects listed in the table included the provision of advice, training and consultancy on  (a) domestic waste collection practices and  (b) charging for domestic waste collection.

Joan Ruddock: The following table indicates projects which included the provision of advice, training and consultancy on domestic waste collection practices. None of the projects related to charging for domestic waste collection.
	
		
			  Project/programme  Advice, training and consultancy on domestic waste collection practices  Payment (£) 
			 Communications via local partners (BCLF) total No 73,309.59 
			 Construction (general) total No 772.89 
			 Evaluation total No 56,900.00 
			 Executive total No 2,544.25 
			 Local authority support total Yes 27,335.50 
			 Local authority training total Yes 278,742.52 
			 Local communications fund (BCLF) total No 105,233.02 
			 Manufacturing support (wood) total No 25,378.90 
			 Organics (added value) total No 27,148.82 
			 Organics (building infrastructure) total No 7,461.95 
			 Organics (promoting compost use) total No 38,048.08 
			 Organics total No 172,582.90 
			 Plasterboard total No 122,805.44 
			 Policy total No 21,579.93 
			 Procurement total No 106,515.68 
			 Recycle at work total No 15,112.25 
			 Regional Development Agency support total No 28,899.96 
			 Regional economic development total No 152,305.20 
			 Recycling and organics technical advisory team (ROTATE) total Yes 69,460.49 
			 Small medium enterprises total No 133,290.39 
			 Manufacturing support (wood) total No 31,663.90 
			 Total — 1,497,091.66

Data Protection

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1642W, on data protection, how many full-time equivalent data guardians HM Revenue and Customs has.

Jane Kennedy: All staff in HMRC have a personal responsibility for protecting the data in their care in line with the Data Protection Act. For further advice staff can refer to their Data Guardian, each of whom has responsibility for the data security arrangements in a particular HMRC business unit.

Financial Services Authority: College Public Policy

Greg Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what payments the Financial Services Authority made to College Public Policy in each of the last five years; on what dates; and for what purpose the payments were made in each case.

Angela Eagle: The matter raised in this question is the responsibility of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), whose day-today operations are independent from Government control and influence. I have asked the Chairman of the FSA to write to the hon. Member on the issue he raises.

Pensions: Taxation

Rob Marris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people who would be affected if pension contributions were allowable for tax relief only against the basic rate of income tax; and what estimate his Department made of the effect on receipts to the Exchequer of allowing relief on pension contributions at the standard rate of income tax only in  (a) 2005-06 and  (b) 2006-07.

Angela Eagle: Latest detailed estimates of the annual cost of tax relief on registered pension schemes are available in Table 7.9 on Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/pensions/menu.htm
	If the relief on individual contributions were constrained to the basic rate of income tax, this relief would fall by one quarter.
	Latest estimates of the number of individuals receiving income tax relief on individual pension contributions are given in Table 3.8 on HMRC's website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/incomedistribution/menu.htm
	If the relief on individual pension contributions were constrained to the basic rate of income tax, the proportion of such taxpayers that would be affected is one quarter.
	These estimates relate to individual contributions to both personal and occupational pensions. We have not estimated the impact of charging to Income Tax employer contributions to private pensions made for the benefit of employees who are liable to the higher rate of income tax. The estimates do not account for behavioural effects, which are likely to be large.

Revenue and Customs: Databases

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what  (a) cross checks and  (b) linkages (i) exist and (ii) are planned between the data records of individuals stored on databases held by (A) HM Revenue and Customs and (B) other Government departments.

Jane Kennedy: HMRC must ensure that its use and disclosure of information complies with requirements of section 17 and section 18 of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005. HMRC are also required to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Human Rights Act 1998 where applicable.
	All existing and any planned cross-checking and linking is carried out in accordance with business need and only where it is lawful to do so. This applies whether the processing is within HMRC or involves other Government Departments.

Taxation: Invalid Vehicles

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will assess the effects of the tariff classification regime as it applies to mobility scooters on  (a) people with disabilities and  (b) the elderly;
	(2)  if he will make representations to the World Customs Organisation to review the tariff classification applicable to mobility scooters;
	(3)  if he will meet  (a) the World Customs Organisation,  (b) the British Healthcare Trade Association and  (c) Ministerial colleagues in the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform to discuss the effects of the tariff classification of mobility scooters.

Jane Kennedy: Mobility scooters are currently classified for customs purposes as Vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons'. The EU has set an import duty of 10 per cent. for these vehicles. This duty is applied to the import value. The retail price for mobility scooters is determined by market forces and subject to fluctuation. The effects of tariff classification as it applies to mobility scooters will therefore vary according to the specific model being imported.
	Government Ministers recognise that the tariff classification of mobility scooters is causing serious concern for both importers and end users of the products. The work to pursue a resolution is being co-ordinated by officials from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). HMRC regularly meet with representatives from The British Healthcare Trade Association (BHTA) as well as officials from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) to discuss the issue.
	Tariff Classification matters fall within the competence of the Community. It is the European Commission's (EC) role to ensure uniform treatment of the same goods by agreeing a common EU position and then presenting that unified view. The UK, via officials from HMRC, has made representations to the Commission to have the classification of mobility scooters referred back to the World Customs Organisation. The EC declined on the basis that current guidelines provide uniformity of classification. In this context it is important to remember that classification experts, both at the European and the International levels, are not influenced by duty rates. The EC has agreed to consider a formal request for duty free treatment or a reduced rate of customs duty for mobility scooters. The BHTA is currently collating the necessary information to support HMRC with this approach.

Working Tax Credit: Fraud

Susan Kramer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many parents have been prosecuted as a result of providing incorrect information in claiming the childcare element of the working tax credit in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The breakdown of figures to numbers of parents prosecuted for providing incorrect information in claiming the childcare element of the working tax credit in each year since 2001 is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	However, in respect of prosecution figures for all tax credits:
	For 2000-01 to 2003-04, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Ribble Valley (Mr. Evans) on 29 June 2005,  Official  Report, column 1549W;
	For 2004-05 to 2006-07, figures can be found at table 7 Part 2 of the Comptroller and Auditor General's standard report in the 2006-07 HMRC Accounts, which is available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/hmrc-accounts2007.htm
	For 2007-08, figures are not yet available.

Armed Forces: Graduates

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what proportion of armed forces personnel have a university degree.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 28 April 2008
	The total number of armed forces personnel who are recorded as having a university degree or equivalent or higher, is 17,469. This is around nine per cent. of the total strength.
	The figure quoted is an estimate only, as the data transferred from the former single service legacy data systems to the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system had differing degrees of reliability. In addition, since the introduction of the JPA system, the responsibility for updating this specific type of data rests solely with the individual, and as such may not always be recorded.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 1 April 2008,  Official Report, column 791W, on armoured fighting vehicles, when he expects the contract for ordering the Ridgeback armoured vehicle to be finalised.

Bob Ainsworth: The MOD expects to contract with a manufacturer and a UK integrator for the Ridgback vehicle shortly. I am unable to provide further details as commercial negotiations are continuing.

BAE Systems: Saudi Arabia

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what meetings he or his officials have held with BAe and its representatives to discuss the al-Yamamah case since May 2005.

Des Browne: Meetings between MOD officials and representatives of BAE Systems at which the SFO investigation into the Al Yamamah programme was raised, took place on 17 June 2005, 3 November 2005, 26 June 2006, 28 September 2006 and 21 October 2006. In accordance with advice to the Department from the Serious Fraud Office, that office was informed of all of these meetings at the time.

Cycling

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether  (a) his Department and  (b) his Department's non-departmental public bodies provide (i) tax-free benefits and (ii) other allowances for their staff to purchase bicycles under the Cycle to Work Scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: Neither the Ministry of Defence nor its non-departmental public bodies currently participate in the Cycle to Work Scheme, however, the Department will be undertaking a review of this in the near future, it does grant civilian staff advances of salary up to £500 for the purchase of bicycles for travel to work and for military personnel daily commuting by bicycle is encouraged through the payment of a rate of mileage allowance for the use of pedal cycles.

Alcoholic Drinks: Children

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were  (a) cautioned,  (b) prosecuted and  (c) given a penalty notice for disorder for knowingly allowing the consumption of alcohol on licensed premises by a child in each of the last two years.

Vernon Coaker: Children are unable to commit this offence, as this offence applies only to those persons who work at the licensed premises in a capacity which authorises them to prevent the consumption of alcohol by those aged under 18.
	The number of persons issued with a caution, penalty notice for disorder, or proceeded against at magistrates courts for the offence of knowingly allowing consumption of alcohol by an under 18 on relevant premises in England and Wales for the years 2005 to 2006 can be viewed in the following tables 1 and 2.
	
		
			  N umber of persons issued with a caution, and proceeded against at magistrates courts for a certain alcohol offence in England and Wales for the years 2005 to 2006( 1,2,3,4,5) 
			   2005  2006 
			  Offence description  Proceeded against  Cautions( 3)  Proceeded against  Cautions( 3) 
			 Person knowingly allows consumption by individual aged under 18 of alcohol 0 0 0 2 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Data include the following offence descriptions and corresponding statutes: Person knowingly allows consumption by individual aged under 18 of alcohol. Licensing Act 2003 s.150(2) (3) From 1 June 2000 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and final warnings. Reprimands and final warnings are included in the above data. (4) The Licensing Act 2003 came into force on 24 November 2005. (5) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, other agencies, and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Court proceedings data held by RDS—Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	
		
			  N umber of persons issued with a penalty notice for disorder for the offence Allowing consumption of alcohol by under 18 on relevant premises in England and Wales for the year 2006( 1,2,3,4) 
			   Allowing consumption of alcohol by under 18 on relevant premises 
			 2005 27 
			 2006 14 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Data include the following offence descriptions and corresponding statute: Allowing consumption of alcohol by a person under 18 on relevant premises. s.50(2) of the Licensing Act 2003 (3) New legislative reference with effect from, 24 November 2005 on implementation of Licensing Act 2003. 4. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, other agencies, and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Court proceedings data held by RDS—Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice

Antisocial Behaviour: Internet

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on the website www.respect.gov.uk in each month since its inception; what the budget for the website is for 2008-09; how many staff are employed to maintain the website; and how many unique visitors there were to the website in each month since its inception.

Vernon Coaker: The antisocial behaviour Respect website www.respect.gov.uk, began in October 2006. In 2006-07, the expenditure on the website was £73,000 and in 2007-08 it was £118,000. The 2008-09 budget for the website is currently under review. The website is run on behalf of the Home Office by Broadcasting Support Services (BSS) who employ one member of staff to maintain the content on the website.
	The number of unique visitors to the website each month for the period November 2006 to March 2008 is on the following table.
	
		
			  Monthly breakdown of unique visitors to the Respect Website 
			   Unique visitors 
			  2006  
			 November 23,282 
			 December 18,321 
			  2007  
			 January 31,214 
			 February 32,061 
			 March 35,002 
			 April 32,903 
			 May 41,523 
			 June 34,647 
			 July 31,589 
			 August 30,546 
			 September 32,055 
			 October 33,347 
			 November 33,620 
			 December 23,270 
			  2008  
			 January 29,743 
			 February 29,883 
			 March 31,025 
		
	
	Total unique visitors for November 2006 to March 2008 is 524,031.

Immigration: Prisoner Escapes

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) illegal immigrants and  (b) failed asylum seekers detained by the police have absconded en route to immigration detention or removal centres in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: In 2008 to date there has been one abscond en route from a police station to an immigration removal centre. The detainee was a failed asylum seeker.
	In 2007 there were three absconds; one illegal entrant, two failed asylum seekers.
	In 2006 there was one abscond who was an illegal entrant.
	In 2005 there were two absconds, both failed asylum seekers.
	Figures prior to 2005 are not available due to a change in escorting contractor.

Sexual Offences

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in each police force basic command unit area were  (a) added to and  (b) on the National Sex Offenders Register in each year since its inception.

Vernon Coaker: The following table provides the number of registered sex offenders in each police force basic command unit for the years 2005-06 and 2006-07, before when these data were not broken down by basic command unit area. This information is published in local multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) annual reports, which are available in the House Libraries and at:
	http://www.probation.justice.gov.uk/output/page30.asp.
	The number of registered sex offenders in each police force basic command unit was not collated in previous years.
	
		
			RSOs 
			  Area  BCU Name  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Avon and Somerset Bristol 271 270 
			 Avon and Somerset South Gloucestershire 78 84 
			 Avon and Somerset Bath and North East Somerset 72 72 
			 Avon and Somerset Somerset East 115 130 
			 Avon and Somerset Somerset West 163 158 
			 Avon and Somerset North Somerset 88 95 
			 Bedfordshire North Beds and Central 262 232 
			 Bedfordshire Luton 132 91 
			 Cambridgeshire Northern 153 172 
			 Cambridgeshire Central 123 122 
			 Cambridgeshire Southern 111 113 
			 Cheshire Western 154 174 
			 Cheshire Northern 198 212 
			 Cheshire Eastern 185 191 
			 County Durham North 163 180 
			 County Durham South 164 168 
			 Cumbria North 100 108 
			 Cumbria South 82 78 
			 Cumbria West 78 94 
			 Derbyshire A Division 119 114 
			 Derbyshire B Division 58 62 
			 Derbyshire C Division 190 175 
			 Derbyshire D Division 261 258 
			 Devon and Cornwall Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 306 332 
			 Devon and Cornwall Plymouth 182 198 
			 Devon and Cornwall North and East Devon 196 188 
			 Devon and Cornwall South and West Devon 194 202 
			 Devon and Cornwall HQ Public Protection Unit 1 0 
			 Dorset Poole 122 63 
			 Dorset Eastern 59 80 
			 Dorset Western 69 128 
			 Dorset Bournemouth 147 144 
			 Dyfed-Powys Carmarthenshire 99 95 
			 Dyfed-Powys Ceredigion 43 40 
			 Dyfed-Powys Pembrokeshire 73 76 
			 Dyfed-Powys Powys 93 88 
			 Essex South Western 183 161 
			 Essex South Eastern 157 156 
			 Essex Eastern 168 145 
			 Essex Western 110 107 
			 Essex Central 184 166 
			 Gloucestershire Cheltenham and Tewkesbury 106 104 
			 Gloucestershire Stroud and Cotswolds 70 76 
			 Gloucestershire Gloucester and Forest 135 131 
			 Greater Manchester North Manchester 149 148 
			 Greater Manchester Metropolitan 167 165 
			 Greater Manchester South Manchester 115 121 
			 Greater Manchester Salford 158 158 
			 Greater Manchester Tameside 104 113 
			 Greater Manchester Stockport 139 141 
			 Greater Manchester Bolton 155 171 
			 Greater Manchester Wigan 154 162 
			 Greater Manchester Trafford 95 91 
			 Greater Manchester Bury 129 145 
			 Greater Manchester Rochdale 133 149 
			 Greater Manchester Oldham 145 158 
			 Gwent A Division (Newport) 120 128 
			 Gwent B Division (Monmouthshire and Torfaen) 109 116 
			 Gwent C Division (Blaenau Gwent and Caerphilly) 162 178 
			 Hampshire Central OUC 289 n/a 
			 Hampshire Isle of Wight OUC 83 n/a 
			 Hampshire North and East OUC 170 n/a 
			 Hampshire Portsmouth OUC 219 n/a 
			 Hampshire Southampton OUC 188 n/a 
			 Hampshire Western OUC 169 n/a 
			 Hertfordshire East and North Herts 119 165 
			 Hertfordshire Central Herts 116 118 
			 Hertfordshire Watford and Three Rivers 162 117 
			 Humberside Hull 260 266 
			 Humberside Grimsby 135  
			 Humberside Scunthorpe 150 131 
			 Humberside East Riding of Yorkshire 170 142 
			 Kent North Kent 112 92 
			 Kent West Kent 95 135 
			 Kent Maidstone 115 188 
			 Kent Medway 175 186 
			 Kent Swale 68 n/a 
			 Kent Canterbury 73 n/a 
			 Kent Thanet 119 n/a 
			 Kent South East Kent 113 191 
			 Kent Weald 71 135 
			 Lancashire Western 198 224 
			 Lancashire Northern 167 179 
			 Lancashire Southern 135 148 
			 Lancashire Central 75 75 
			 Lancashire Eastern 236 231 
			 Lancashire Pennine 130 141 
			 Leicestershire North 117 147 
			 Leicestershire East 122 125 
			 Leicestershire West 161 0 
			 Leicestershire Central 131 262 
			 Lincolnshire East 118 126 
			 Lincolnshire South 108 109 
			 Lincolnshire West 175 189 
			 London Barking and Dagenham 70 84 
			 London Barnet 79 82 
			 London Bexley 57 78 
			 London Brent 132 108 
			 London Bromley 128 106 
			 London Camden 73 92 
			 London Croydon 142 150 
			 London Ealing 145 130 
			 London Enfield 98 98 
			 London Greenwich 115 101 
			 London Hackney 106 129 
			 London Hammersmith and Fulham 52 53 
			 London Haringey 102 122 
			 London Harrow 64 68 
			 London Havering 49 65 
			 London Hillingdon 78 95 
			 London Hounslow 71 82 
			 London Islington 92 97 
			 London Kensington and Chelsea 77 72 
			 London Kingston 40 51 
			 London Lambeth 184 167 
			 London Lewisham 164 174 
			 London Merton 77 63 
			 London Newham 117 115 
			 London Red bridge 76 88 
			 London Richmond 60 62 
			 London Southwark 150 170 
			 London Sutton 57 53 
			 London Tower Hamlets 81 84 
			 London Waltham Forest 165 122 
			 London Wandsworth 126 103 
			 London Westminster 83 82 
			 London City of London 3 5 
			 Merseyside Liverpool North 234 232 
			 Merseyside Liverpool South 239 267 
			 Merseyside Sefton 167 160 
			 Merseyside Wirral 65 67 
			 Merseyside St Helens 95 92 
			 Merseyside Knowsley 145 141 
			 Norfolk Eastern 165 184 
			 Norfolk Central 222 234 
			 Norfolk Western 115 128 
			 North Wales Eastern 158 165 
			 North Wales Western 104 98 
			 North Wales Central 133 142 
			 North Yorkshire Central 140 157 
			 North Yorkshire Western 83 89 
			 North Yorkshire Eastern 115 113 
			 Northamptonshire North 137 124 
			 Northamptonshire West 207 231 
			 Northumbria Newcastle 163 239 
			 Northumbria Sunderland 63 172 
			 Northumbria Northumberland 125 137 
			 Northumbria South Tyneside 127 61 
			 Northumbria North Tyneside 284 125 
			 Northumbria Gateshead 136 136 
			 Nottinghamshire A Division (Mansfield and Ashfield) 150 166 
			 Nottinghamshire B Division (Bassetlaw, Newark and Sherwood) 108 114 
			 Nottinghamshire C Division (Nottingham City) 327 341 
			 Nottinghamshire D Division (South Notts Including Rushcliffe, Gedling and Broxtowe Boroughs) 127 126 
			 South Wales A Division (Rhondda Cynon Taff / Merthyr Tydfil) 149 136 
			 South Wales C Division (Cardiff) 211 232 
			 South Wales E Division (Vale of Glamorgan) 72 69 
			 South Wales F Division (Bridgend) 61 60 
			 South Wales G Division (Neath Port Talbot) 60 67 
			 South Wales H Division (Swansea) 127 131 
			 South Yorkshire Barnsley 12 118 
			 South Yorkshire Doncaster 233 242 
			 South Yorkshire Rotherham 157 162 
			 South Yorkshire Sheffield One 91 96 
			 South Yorkshire Sheffield Two 194 212 
			 South Yorkshire PPU 4 0 
			 Staffordshire North Staffs 106 113 
			 Staffordshire Chase 165 176 
			 Staffordshire Stoke-on-Trent 214 242 
			 Staffordshire Trent Valley 142 145 
			 Suffolk West 106 102 
			 Suffolk Southern 172 185 
			 Suffolk Surrey Eastern 115 126 
			 Surrey A Division (North Surrey) 79 93 
			 Surrey B Division (East Surrey) 108 109 
			 Surrey C Division (West Surrey) 118 129 
			 Surrey D Division (North West Surrey) 85 95 
			 Sussex West Downs 226 233 
			 Sussex North Downs 145 138 
			 Sussex East Sussex 278 273 
			 Sussex Brighton and Hove 155 145 
			 Sussex Gatwick 0 0 
			 Teesside Hartlepool 41 42 
			 Teesside Stockton 106 115 
			 Teesside Middlesbrough 124 119 
			 Teesside Redcar and Cleveland 83 81 
			 Thames Valley Oxfordshire 306 323 
			 Thames Valley West Berkshire 224 227 
			 Thames Valley East Berkshire 141 152 
			 Thames Valley Milton Keynes 129 130 
			 Thames Valley Buckinghamshire 136 150 
			 Warwickshire North 132 148 
			 Warwickshire South 100 111 
			 West Mercia South Worcs 174 193 
			 West Mercia North Worcs 145 142 
			 West Mercia Hereford 106 106 
			 West Mercia Telford 95 99 
			 West Mercia Shropshire 112 109 
			 West Midlands Birmingham D1 134 119 
			 West Midlands Birmingham D2 93 88 
			 West Midlands Birmingham D3 117 127 
			 West Midlands Birmingham E1 125 117 
			 West Midlands Birmingham E2 76 78 
			 West Midlands Birmingham E3 91 83 
			 West Midlands Birmingham F1 37 40 
			 West Midlands Birmingham F2 100 79 
			 West Midlands Birmingham F3 86 61 
			 West Midlands Wolverhampton G1 88 78 
			 West Midlands Wolverhampton G2 131 128 
			 West Midlands Walsall H1 78 79 
			 West Midlands Walsall H2 78 80 
			 West Midlands Dudley J1 86 95 
			 West Midlands Dudley J2 87 84 
			 West Midlands Sandwell K1 109 99 
			 West Midlands Sandwell K2 91 117 
			 West Midlands Solihull L 103 104 
			 West Midlands Coventry M1 77 72 
			 West Midlands Coventry M2 73 62 
			 West Midlands Coventry M3 65 60 
			 West Yorkshire Pudsey and Weetwood 204 200 
			 West Yorkshire Chapeltown 81 160 
			 West Yorkshire Kilingbeck 88 n/a 
			 West Yorkshire City and Holbeck 139 152 
			 West Yorkshire Wakefield and Pontefract 207 204 
			 West Yorkshire Kirklees 272 277 
			 West Yorkshire Calderdale 118 119 
			 West Yorkshire Bradford South 96 89 
			 West Yorkshire Bradford North 94 107 
			 West Yorkshire Keighley 74 79 
			 Wiltshire A Division (Kennet and Salisbury) 76 84 
			 Wiltshire B Division (North and West Wiltshire) 126 137 
			 Wiltshire C Division (Swindon Borough) 114 135

Stop and Search

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Taunton of 13 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 85-6W, on stop and search, how many times the power to authorise stop and search for offensive weapons within a specified area for the period of 24 hours under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 was used by a senior police officer in each year since 2005-06.

Vernon Coaker: The 2005-06 information given in the answer to the hon. Member for Taunton (Mr. Browne) of 13 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 85-6W, is the most recent available. Data for 2006-07 will be published later this year.

Elections: Slough

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department plans to take in response to the recommendations of the Electoral Commissioner in the recent electoral court case in Slough.

Bridget Prentice: We have noted the findings and comments in the judgment of the election court. Since 2005, the Government have introduced a range of new measures to strengthen the integrity of our electoral system, and there have been very few proven incidences of fraud since the new measures were brought into force. They include:
	Electoral administrators write to everyone who has applied for a postal vote acknowledging receipt of their application and confirming the outcome—this will alert people to any applications for postal votes made falsely on their behalf.
	Postal vote applicants have to specify a reason if they want their postal vote to be sent to an address other than that at which they are registered.
	Administrators get more time to check postal vote applications because people have to apply for a postal vote a minimum of 11 working days before the close of poll (the previous minimum was six days).
	New requirement for electors to provide personal identifiers (signature and date of birth) if they wish to have a postal vote. The identifiers must be replicated by elector when they subsequently cast their postal vote, and will be cross-checked with the original samples to ensure the postal vote is valid.
	New offence of falsely applying for a postal or proxy vote.
	After every election a list of all those who voted by post is published which will enable individuals to check that their vote was counted. In an investigation the police will be able to check up with any individual whether they did actually vote by post or whether their vote was stolen.
	New criminal offence of supplying false information (or failing to supply information) to the electoral registration officer at any time.
	Strengthened offence of undue influence, which will make it easier to prosecute, even if the undue influence does not affect the way someone votes.
	Clear new powers for electoral administrators to cross check applications to register to vote against other information the council holds.
	We will take account of the election court's judgement in any further development on electoral registration and postal voting processes and legislation.

Magistrates Courts

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases where defendants have been charged and appeared before a magistrates court but no further hearing has been held there were in each magistrates court in the south-west region, broken down by constabulary in each of the last five years; and what percentage this represented of all cases in each area in each year.

Maria Eagle: The following tables show the annual number of completed charged criminal cases (adult and youth), and the estimated proportion disposed of at first hearing, for court groupings in the south-west region of HM Court Service for the years 2002 to 2006. Figures are not yet available for 2007.
	Figures are provided based on the location of the magistrates court, as data broken down by police force are not available. However, magistrates courts typically hear cases drawn from their local area.
	Figures for the number of cases disposed of at the first hearing are estimates taken from a quarterly survey of magistrates courts. These estimates are therefore subject to sample survey variability, with margins of error as shown in the table.
	
		
			  Number of charged cases and estimated proportion disposed of in one hearing in the  south- west region  magistrates  courts, 2002-06 
			   2002  2003  2004 
			  Area( 1)  Number of cases( 2)  In one hearing( 3)  Margin of error( 4) (+/- %)  Number of cases( 2)  In one hearing( 3)  Margin of error( 4) (+/- %)  Number of cases( 2)  In one hearing( 3)  Margin of error( 4) (+/- %) 
			  Avon and Somerset 
			 Bath and Wansdyke 2,409 30 8 2,561 34 8 2,011 39 8 
			 Bristol 6,649 25 5 7,456 28 4 6,667 33 5 
			 North Avon 2,327 24 10 2,559 24 9 2,364 37 9 
			 South Somerset 1,327 35 12 1,283 37 13 1,208 34 10 
			 Taunton Deane 1,077 28 8 2,764 39 8 2,321 34 7 
			 Woodspring 1,890 35 13 1,985 33 9 1,859 40 10 
			  Avon and Somerset—total 15,679 28 3 18,608 31 3 16,430 35 3 
			   
			  Devon and Cornwall 
			 Central Devon 4,023 60 7 3,913 53 8 3,316 49 7 
			 East Cornwall 2,124 41 9 2,370 45 8 1,962 45 9 
			 North Devon 1,725 46 10 1,591 54 10 1,434 39 11 
			 Plymouth District 3,845 31 7 3,690 35 7 3,601 36 7 
			 South Devon 3,643 35 8 3,707 48 7 3,378 49 8 
			 West Cornwall 2,117 34 9 2,159 39 8 2,079 40 9 
			 Total 17,477 41 3 17,430 45 3 15,770 43 3 
			   
			  Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 
			 Gloucestershire 6,190 33 5 5,925 32 6 5,900 41 6 
			 North West Wiltshire 2,310 39 11 2,520 48 9 2,492 39 8 
			 Poole 6,959 43 5 6,553 41 5 6,438 44 4 
			 Salisbury 1,557 39 11 1,631 47 10 1,552 50 9 
			 Swindon 2,816 39 8 2,719 41 7 2,620 36 8 
			 Total 19,832 38 3 19,348 40 3 19,002 42 3 
			   
			  Hampshire and Isle of Wight 
			 Isle of Wight 1,773 45 11 2,038 42 9 1,796 35 10 
			 North East Hampshire 6,676 42 7 7,101 51 5 6,915 34 5 
			 South East Hampshire 9,583 39 5 9,068 36 4 9,592 35 4 
			 Southampton 7,948 37 5 7,843 40 5 7,601 35 4 
			 Total 25,980 39 3 26,050 41 2 25,904 35 2 
			   
			  South West Region  t otal 78,968 37 1 81,436 39 1 77,106 39 1 
		
	
	
		
			   2005  2006 
			  Area( 1)  Number of cases( 2)  In one hearing( 3)  Margin of error( 4)  (+/- %)  Number of cases( 2)  In one hearing( 3)  Margin of error( 4)  (+/- %) 
			  Avon and Somerset 
			 Bath and Wansdyke 2,138 40 8 1,915 34 7 
			 Bristol 6,609 31 5 6,219 29 4 
			 North Avon 2,612 39 8 2,342 26 9 
			 South Somerset 1,203 26 11 1,117 46 10 
			 Taunton Deane 2,518 34 7 2,192 31 7 
			 Woodspring 1,984 41 10 1,766 31 9 
			 Total 17,064 35 3 15,551 32 3 
			
			  Devon and Cornwall 
			 Central Devon 3,303 52 7 2,670 49 8 
			 East Cornwall 1,876 56 8 1,992 50 9 
			 North Devon 1,385 38 10 1,346 43 10 
			 Plymouth District 3,513 30 6 3,191 35 7 
			 South Devon 3,120 29 8 2,720 43 8 
			 West Cornwall 1,923 41 8 1,847 48 9 
			 Total 15,120 41 3 13,766 44 3 
			
			  Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 
			 Gloucestershire 6,338 34 5 6,427 42 5 
			 North West Wiltshire 2,345 40 11 2,274 42 8 
			 Poole 7,163 43 4 7,130 35 4 
			 Salisbury 1,619 52 9 1,466 39 12 
			 Swindon 2,539 42 8 2,217 42 8 
			 Total 20,004 41 3 19,514 39 3 
			
			  Hampshire and Isle of Wight 
			 Isle of Wight 2,100 48 12 1,823 43 9 
			 North East Hampshire 6,275 48 6 5,597 47 6 
			 South East Hampshire 8,281 31 4 7,018 40 5 
			 Southampton 7,547 38 4 7,406 39 4 
			 Total 24,203 38 3 21,844 41 3 
			
			 South West Region total 76,391 39 1 70,675 39 1 
			 (1) Local data are presented at clerkship level, clerkships being clusters of one or more courts grouped for administrative purposes. Area and region groupings are those used by Her Majesty's Court Service (HMCS). (2) Number of cases arising from apprehensions (equivalent to charged cases) taken from MOJ Court Proceedings Database (CPD). (3) Estimated proportion based on one sample week of charged cases (summons are excluded from these figures) in March, June, September and December. The Time Intervals Survey (TIS) collects the number of hearings for completed criminal cases in magistrates1 courts. More information on TIS is available on the Ministry of Justice website. (4) The margin of error is a measure of the precision of a result based on a sample survey. Number of hearings in magistrates court cases are measured using data from a sample of the total number of defendants. The sample provides one estimate of the average number of hearings and different samples would produce different averages. The true value is likely to fall within the range of the sample result +/- the margin of error.  Source: Time Intervals Survey and Court Proceedings Database, MOJ

Prisoners: Voting Rights

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to issue his response to the consultation voting rights of convicted prisoners detained within the United Kingdom—The UK Government's response to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights judgment in the case of Hirst  v. The United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: The Government are currently considering how to take forward the implementation of the Hirst judgment in light of the first stage consultation on this issue and will publish the responses in due course. We also remain committed to carrying out a second, more detailed public consultation on how voting rights might be granted to serving prisoners, and how far those rights should be extended. This is a sensitive and complex issue and we need to look very carefully at what the right approach should be.

Prisons: Drugs

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps the Government has taken to reduce substance misuse inside prisons in the last 12 months.

David Hanson: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has in place a comprehensive strategy to address the misuse of drugs by offenders serving custodial sentences. The strategy for prisons has three elements:
	reducing supply, through security measures and drug testing programmes;
	reducing demand, through targeted interventions for low, moderate and severe drug-misusers; and
	establishing effective through-care links to ensure continuity of treatment post-release in order to safeguard the gains made in custody.
	Prisons have in place a robust framework of supply reduction measures and these can be adapted flexibly to meet local need.
	As part of the drive against drugs announced at the end of January 2008, the Director General of the Prison Service has commissioned David Blakey, a former member of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, to conduct a review of the effectiveness of the measures to disrupt the supply of illicit drugs into prisons.
	On 13 March 2008 we announced that universal testing for the opiate substitute buprenorphine was to commence in all prisons of England and Wales from 1 April 2008. Prisoners have also been warned of the dangers of the illicit use of buprenorphine.
	NOMS' comprehensive drug treatment framework, based on the National Treatment Agency's revised Models of Care, addresses the different needs of substance-misusers in prison. Interventions are comprised of:
	Clinical services, detoxification and/or maintenance prescribing;
	CARATs (Counselling, Assessment, Referral, Advice and Throughcare service)—lower-level interventions that, following assessment, deliver treatment and support. CARATs take the lead Drug Intervention programme (DIP) role in prisons, engaging with prison resettlement teams and criminal justice integrated teams (CJITs) in the community;
	Drug Rehabilitation programmes.
	In 2007-08 £79.8 million was made available for drug treatment in prisons. £18.7 million of this was used to fund the implementation of the integrated drug treatment system (IDTS). This allowed the development of enhanced clinical services in 53 prisons, with 29 of these also developing enhanced psychosocial services.

Young Offender Institutions

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average number of hours per day spent in purposeful activity was by each  (a) adult (i) male and (ii) adult female prisoner and (A) male and (B) female prisoner in a young offender institution in each week of March and April 2008.

Maria Eagle: Data is not yet available for April 2008, the following table shows the average number of hours of purposeful activity per day in prisons which predominately hold (a) adult male prisoners, (b) adult female prisoners and (c) male prisoners in young offender and juvenile institutions, for each week in February and March 2008. No young offender institutes are predominantly categorised as female. Therefore, the average number of hours for a female prisoner in a young offender institution cannot be provided.
	
		
			  Week commencing  Adult female  Adult male  YO and juvenile male 
			 3 February 2008 4.1 3.7 3.9 
			 10 February 2008 4.2 3.7 3.8 
			 17 February 2008 4.1 3.7 3.8 
			 24 February 2008 4.2 3.7 3.8 
			 2 March 2008 4.2 3.7 3.8 
			 9 March 2008 4.0 3.7 3.7 
			 16 March 2008 3.8 3.5 3.6 
			 23 March 2008 3.8 3.4 3.3 
			 30 March 2008 4.2 3.6 3.7

Cycling

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether  (a) his Department and  (b) his Department's non-departmental public bodies provide (i) tax-free benefits and (ii) other allowances for their staff to purchase bicycles under the Cycle to Work scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not currently offer a cycle to work scheme to its employees. Our intention is to introduce a scheme through the course of 2008 in line with changes planned as part of our Human Resources Transformation Programme.
	At present DFID staff can apply for an interest free loan to cover the cost of purchasing a bicycle and any necessary security and safety equipment up to the value to £500. The loan is repayable over a maximum period of 12 months.
	The one DFID Executive non-departmental public bodies does not employ any staff.

Construction

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many construction projects his Department undertook in each of the last three years for which the capital cost was greater than £1.5 million; and what the combined value of these projects was.

Jim Knight: The Department does not undertake construction projects directly itself. Rather it allocates capital funding to a variety of bodies, usually local authorities, who procure and manage the projects. The capital allocations by programme for this Department for the last three years are included in the Departmental Annual Report (DAR) Table 8.2 and Annex C refers.
	
		
			  Academy projects started/undertaken in each of the last three years: 
			   Number 
			 2005-06 10 
			 2006-07 23 
			 2007-08 3 
		
	
	The estimated capital cost of each of these projects exceeds £1.5 million.
	The combined value of these projects (i.e. the total estimated capital costs including sponsorship) is £809.5million.
	The number of 16-19 capital projects approved over the past two years with a project cost of more than £1.5 million:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Number of projects  Total  c ost 
			 2006-07 22 100.3 
			 2007-08 35 169.4 
		
	
	Two separate sources of funding (from Schools and Further Education) were brought together to create the 16-19 capital fund from 2006-07.

Departmental Written Questions

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many days it took on average to answer written parliamentary questions tabled by each hon. Member for answer by him in the last six months.

Kevin Brennan: The Department's IT systems are currently unable to provide the full breakdown requested. Since the beginning of the 2007-08 Session and up to 31 March 2008 the Department has received a total of 2,674 PQs: 416 named day and 2,258 ordinary written PQs. The manual check of all named day PQs carried out to monitor the timeliness of replies for the months of November 2007 to March 2008 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Total named day PQs received  Total named day PQs answered on time (percentage) 
			 November 2007 105 30 
			 December 2007 58 38 
			 January 2008 104 28 
			 February 2008 89 42 
			 March 2008 60 75

Pre-School Education: Standards

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of childcare staff in nurseries had an Early Years Foundation Degree in  (a) Basingstoke constituency,  (b) Hampshire and  (c) England in each of the last five years.

Beverley Hughes: The Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey collects information on staff qualifications that are relevant to working with children and young people. The qualifications are grouped together in the levels that they have been accredited with by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. It is not possible to look at specific qualifications held.
	The Early Years Foundation Degree is a level 5 qualification. The percentage of paid staff in England holding at least a level 5 qualification is as follows:
	
		
			  Table 1: Percentage of paid staff holding at least a Level 5 qualification: 2006 
			   Percentage 
			 Full day care 4 
			 Full day care in children's centres 13 
			 Sessional 5 
			 After school clubs 6 
			 Holiday clubs 9 
			 Childminders 4 
			 Nursery schools 33 
			 Primary schools with nursery and reception classes 40 
			 Primary schools with reception but no nursery classes 48 
		
	
	Within those figures, those staff with any level 5 qualification relevant to working with children and young people is shown in Table 2:
	
		
			  Table 2: Percentage of paid staff holding a Level 5 qualification: 2006 
			   Percentage 
			 Full day care 1 
			 Full day care in children's centres 3 
			 Sessional 1 
			 After school clubs 1 
			 Holiday clubs 1 
			 Childminders 0 
			 Nursery schools 3 
			 Primary schools with nursery and reception classes 2 
			 Primary schools with reception but no nursery classes 3 
		
	
	Comparable data is not available for previous years due to changes in the way that the qualification levels were defined.
	Data is not available at a local authority level.

Schools: Sustainable Development

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps he has taken towards establishing a carbon test for new schools as a supplement to the BRE Environmental Assessment Method rating.

Jim Knight: The Children's Plan sets out our ambition for newly built schools to be zero carbon by 2016 and contains our current requirement for all newly built schools to reduce carbon emissions by at least 60 per cent. We are in the process of establishing a task force to determine; how to achieve zero carbon schools; whether the timescale is realistic; and how to reduce carbon emissions in the intervening period.
	With regard to the current requirement to reduce emissions from new school buildings by 60 per cent.. the Department has developed a simple piece of software—the 'carbon calculator'—which estimates the carbon savings and capital costs for a range of low carbon technologies. This allows users to test combinations of potential features for each school's design. The carbon calculator, and guidance on its use, can be downloaded from the Teachernet web-site(1). Our guidance on how to use the calculator also contains information on a wide range of low carbon technologies. This refers users to other more detailed sources of information on each of these technologies, such as publications or specialist organisations that can provide further technical or financial support.
	Our specific measures to address carbon emissions are additional to our requirement for all major school building projects; register for a BREEAM Schools assessment; and aim to achieve a minimum rating of 'very good'.
	(1) www.teachernet.gov.uk/carbontargets

Cycling

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether  (a) his Department and  (b) his Department's non-departmental public bodies provide (i) tax-free benefits and (ii) other allowances for their staff to purchase bicycles under the Cycle to Work scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions is currently sourcing a supplier to offer a cycle to work scheme to its employees. This scheme will support employees in taking greener journeys, by enabling the Department to loan a cycle to an employee, for up to 18 months and is expected to be available by September 2008.
	The Department also offers an advance of salary to encourage green commuting. This allows employees to take an advance of their salary of up to £1,000 for the purchase of a cycle or an amount to cover the full cost of an annual public transport season ticket. The amount has to be repaid over the following 12 months and is free of interest. The same tax rules apply to benefits in kind provided to employees of Government Departments as to any other employee.
	The Independent Living Fund, which is a non-departmental public body sponsored by DWP, offers staff who wish to purchase a bicycle for the purpose of travelling to work, the opportunity to request an advance of salary, which will be recovered in equal payments over a 12 month period.

Consultants

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what payments the Big Lottery Fund made to  (a) Stategem and  (b) Morgan Allen Moore in each of the last five years; and on what dates and for what purpose the payment was made in each case.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Big Lottery Fund has provided the following information about the dates, amounts and purpose of payments made by them to Strategem and Morgan Allen Moore during the last five years:
	
		
			  Company  Service  Date  £ (including VAT)  Information provided weekly 
			 Morgan Allen Moore Morgan Allen Moore is contracted by the Big Lottery Fund's Wales office as a monitoring service, highlighting issues relating to the work of National Assembly for Wales and the Welsh Assembly Government that is relevant to BIG's programmes in Wales. The Morgan Allen Moore Monitoring service provides BIG in Wales with Relevant background to WAG and NAFW enabling BIG to be more responsive and informs us on strategic policy decisions. 3 June 2004 542.85 Morgan Allen Moore provide a weekly summary highlighting: 
			   18 June 2004 542.85 Questions and issues raised by Assembly Members in relation to the work of the Big Lottery Fund. 
			   11 August 2004 542.85 Morgan Allen Moore provide a weekly summary highlighting: 
			   18 August 2004 542.85 New policies and strategies relevant to the Big lottery Fund's work; 
			   10 September 2004 542.85 Work of the National Assembly for Wales committees; 
			   15 October 2004 542.85 Up-coming Consultations and reviews that the Big Lottery Fund may wish to contribute to; 
			   16 November 2004 542.85 Funding announcements to ensure that Big Lottery Fund complements other funding streams. 
			   5 January 2005 542.85 Morgan Allen Moore also provides ad-hoc briefings for BIG for events and meetings. 
			   25 January 2005 542.85  
			   22 February 2005 542.85  
			   9 March 2005 542.85  
			   15 April 2005 542.85  
			   16 May 2005 542.85  
			   30 June 2005 542.85  
			   25 July 2005 542.85  
			   17 August 2005 542.85  
			   14 September 2005 542.85  
			   17 October 2005 542.85  
			   7 December 2005 542.85  
			   21 December 2005 542.85  
			   21 December 2005 -542.85  
			   21 December 2005 542.85  
			   13 February 2006 542.85  
			   17 March 2006 542.85  
			   24 April 2006 542.85  
			   17 May 2006 542.85  
			   20 June 2006 542.85  
			   24 July 2006 542.85  
			   27 September 2006 1,085.70  
			   5 October 2006 542.85  
			   16 November2006 542.85  
			   15 December 2006 542.85  
			   13 February 2007 542.85  
			   12 March 2007 542.85  
			   3 April 2007 542.85  
			   17 April 2007 542.85  
			   15 May 2007 542.85  
			   12 June 2007 542.85  
			   17 July 2007 542.85  
			   9 August 2007 542.85  
			   8 November2007 542.85  
			   3 January 2008 542.85  
			   30 January 2008 1,628.55  
			   7 February 2008 542.85  
			   11 March 2008 542.85  
			   9 April 2008 542.85  
		
	
	
		
			  Company  Service  Date  Net  a mount (£)  Information provided annually 
			 Stratagem Annual subscription to Stratagem's Public Affairs Toolkit 18 August 2004 352.50 12 monthly updates via email to Public Affairs Officer, NI 
			   9 August 2005 352.50 Ad hoc updates on key political developments in Assembly/NI 
			   17 October 2006 411.25  
			   12 September 2007 411.25

Bankruptcy

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the practices of credit companies in issuing statutory demands to debtors rather than applying for county court judgements; and what assessment he has made of the effect this practice has on levels of bankruptcies.

Patrick McFadden: A creditor can ask the court to make a bankruptcy order in respect of a debtor on the ground of inability to pay their debts which may be demonstrated on the basis of a failure to comply with a statutory demand, or alternatively that a county court judgment has been returned unsatisfied in whole or in part. Both routes are equally acceptable, subject to the proper procedure being followed, and may result in a bankruptcy order being made by the court.
	The Insolvency Service does not keep statistics on the number of bankruptcies which arise from either route, either within the credit industry or more widely and the effect of any particular industry practices upon bankruptcy numbers is therefore unknown. However, the number of bankruptcies arising from creditor petitions has remained relatively flat over the past few years.
	There are a range of measures in place to reduce the number of individuals who become over-indebted and to support those who have become so. These include the expansion of the National Debtline, which now helps 150,000 clients per year and the face-face debt advice programme.

Debt Collection: Licensing

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will hold discussions with the Office of Fair Trading about the issuing of consumer credit licences to debt collecting companies and ensuring that recipients of licences have a responsibility to check properly the history of those individuals passed onto them to prevent older people who have faced identity theft from being caused distress.

Gareth Thomas: We have recently given the Office of Fair Trading wider ranging powers to tackle debt collectors. Debt collectors are now subject to greater scrutiny at the licence application stage and greater monitoring throughout the life of the licence. Furthermore, as part of a recently completed investigation, the OFT has issued warnings to 13 companies telling them that they need to take steps to improve their debt collection practices. In particular, the companies involved have specifically been asked to review their policies and procedures for tracing debtors, including keeping client data' up to date and maintaining its accuracy.

Post Offices: Closures

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the likely cost of the outreach services to be provided as part of the post office closure programme in  (a) the Cotswolds and  (b) England.

Patrick McFadden: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. (POL). I have therefore asked Alan Cook, Managing Director of POL, to reply direct to the hon. Member.
	Copies of the letter will be placed in both the Libraries of the House.

Post Offices: Closures

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment will be made of the adequacy of the outreach activities to be offered in each case where a post office is closed; and what steps will be taken in any circumstances where such services are considered to be inadequate.

Patrick McFadden: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. (POL). I have therefore asked Alan Cook, Managing Director of POL, to reply direct to the hon. Member.
	Copies of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.